Apparatus for hardening articles



Feb. 25, 1930. w. G. HILDORF APPARATUS FOR HARDENING ARTICLES original Filed Dec. 5, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet INVENTOR WZZef /ZZ'Zaorf BY /W ATTORNEYS Feb. 25, 1930. W, Q HlLDORF 1,748,290

APPARATUS FOR HARDENING ARTICLES original Fild Dec. 5, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ATTO RN EYS' .'.Pafenied' Feb. 25, 1930 l UNITED 4s'rarss mazet VPATENT OFFICEY Y ,'l'AIlTlllRrG'.v HILDORF, fOF LANSING, MICHIGAN,r ASSIGNOR TO REO MOTOR CAR i COMPANY, OF LANSING, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN APPARATUS FOR- HARDENING ARTICLES Y Original application filed December 5, y1927', Serial No. 237,972. Divided and thisapplication led October 15, 192s. serial 110.312,692.

This invention relates to an apparatusfor ruse in the hardening of articles kand has particular reference to an apparatus for treatingarticles with a fluid during the harden- 'Sing operation. Y y n f This is a division of my co-pending ap- .plicatipn Serial'No. 237,972 filed December 5 192 f ',This invention linds particular utility in the operation of quenching articles and has as an object to provide means whereby one portion of the article may be kchilled in advance of the 'otherportion `Affurther object of this invention is to provide aquenching apparatus having means for initially directing a quenching fluid into Contact with one face of the article to be quenched while maintaining the other face of the article to be quenched, free 'from contact with the quenching fluid.

A still furthervobj'ecty of thisinvention is to providea quenchingy apparatus having means kfor compensating for variations in the heights of the Aarticles to be quenched, so that theapparatus will readily adapt itself to a 30 for preventing contactof the quenching fluid with one* portion. of the article being quenched, wherebythis portion of the article will retain its toughness and it ability to resist shocks. y J

Othervobjectsand advantages of this invention will become apparent as the following descriptionV proceeds.

'In'the drawings: f' f Figure 1is a central vertical sectional view throughthe apparatus;

j Figure 2 is a fragmentary horizontal sectionalview `taken substantially on the plane indicated'by the line 2 2 of Figure 1;

.Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional 'view kshowing thedetails-'of construction of the f means for preventing initial contact of the quenching fluid'with the outer periphery of f, Referring now particularly to the drawings wherein l1ke reference characters designate correspondmg parts throughout all views of the same, 10 designates a supporting member which may be in the form of a .spider and which supports the lower die, and -expansible form hereinafter to be described.

Mounted on the supporting member 10, ina centrally arranged depressionr 11, is a at its base With a. plurality of spaced sockets -16 communicating with threaded apertures 17. rlhe upper face of the lower die is provided with a relativelyy wide` but shallow groove 18 to receive the flanges of the segments of the expanding form hereinafter to be described and is further provided with the insertsy 13 and 13, which project above the yupper face of the die to form bearing surfaces for the said segments.

Mounted on the inserts 13 and 13 is an expansible form composed of a plurality of segmental die or form member 19, each of vwhich is provided with a flange 2O adapted to be received in the groove 13 formed in the vlower die 12. As clearly illustrated in Figure1 of the drawing, the flanges 20 are of less thickness than the kwidth of the grooves 18, vwhereby radial movement of the form members 19 is permitted. .f

- The segmental die or form members 19 are yadapted to be radially displaced by a pilot Vexpander .orram 21, the latter being provided with areduced extension 22 lhaving a bearing in a bushing 23 carried by the supporting member 10.1`As clearly illustrated in Figure l1 or the drawing, the lower extremity of the eXtension'22 isprovided with a socket 24;A in which 1s mounted a spring 25 having one end s bearing against the base 'of the socket and its otherend bearing against avplate 26fcarried by the lower end of the bushing 23. As will be readily apparent, the spring tends to urge the pilot expander orram upwardly to permit inward radial movement ofthe segmental die members 19. -To limit upward :movement of the-'ram 21 thereis provided.. ai'

ent that Contact of the nut 28 with the plate 26 will limit upward movement of. the ram 21.

For forcing the ram 21 downwardly against the tension of the spring 25, there is provided a piston 29, thispistonfbeing mounted for reciprocation in a suitable chamber 30 formed in an upper supporting member 31, which member may also be of a spider shape. l? or maintaining the piston expander 29 in alignment with the ram 21, there may be provided a centering pin or piston 32A which is carried by the upper supporting member and is adapted tobe slidably received? in a socket 33 formed in the upper face ofthe ram` 21. The. expander 29 may bel actuatedv inv any desired manner as by the admission of compressed'air into thechamber 30 andthe downwaadf `movement ofthe piston expander 29 forces the ram21 downwardlyagainst the tension of the spring 25 to expand thesegmental form members 19.v lVhileit is imma ferial what means may be provided for actuating the pist-on expander, it isiessentialv that there bea definite relation between the force ofthe actuating means and the spring 25 so that. therexpansible form member 19 may be radially displaced only a predetermined desired amount. This is extremely important since the brake drum when locatedis of greater than the ultimate diameter desired. and is loosely mounted' on the expansibleV form which has been previously adjusted tothe desired inner diameter of the'brakeldrum.

In Figure'fl of the. drawing, I have shown a brake drumdesignated general-ly by the reference character 34. Thisbrake` drum isv provided with the web portion 35, t-he lower Y harige-36 and may if'desired-be provided with the inclined portion 37 whichextends` between what might be termed the drum porcarried by the upper supportl 31 and which is adapted' to engage the web 35 of" the brake 6G drum when the upper support is moved toward the lower support 10 and'lower die 12.

The upper'` die 40 is provided in its2 upper grooves '41 which communicate at their'inner endsiw-ith a central.. chamber 42 formeel? by the form members19 and the upper die 40. The

form members 19 are scalloped on their louter periphery as clearly illustrated in Figure 2 of the drawing, and these scallops together with the drum portion 3Sof the brake drum form a plurality of fluid passages 43, which communicate at their lower ends with the fluid passages 14 formed in thelower die 12 and which communicate at their upper end with diagonally extending passages 44 formedrin. the,l upper portion of the form members 19 between the passages 43 and the centra-l chamber-42. It will thus beseen that there is provided a continuousfluid passage from below the lower die 12 past the form members 19, through 'the upper portions of the form members 19 and outthrought-he upper support 31.r v f In opera-tion, with the bi'alre drum clamped on the apparatus as illustrated inz Figurefl ofthe drawing, thel compleue apparatus is lowered into a bath of quenching fluid preferably oil. By virtue of the spider form of the lower support 10, the quenchingfluid is permitted to flow upwardly throughthe fluid passages 14, 43 and 44 to the-central chafmber 42, from which it passes through the grooves 41 to the spider portion` ofi the support 31, where it passesV upwardly through the ysupport 31, after which it may flow over the edges of said support and back` down into the-tank. The-size of the lower support 10 and lower die 12 is such that when the 'apparatus is loweredinto-the vat of oil,.pres

sure is exerted oir the surface of the' o il or quenching fluid by the lower support` and l lower die. Thusthe quenchinggfluid is forced under pressure up through. the: passages aforesaid, in advance `of the flow of the quenching fluid around the outer periphery ofthe lower die and form and therefore in advance of thecontact ofthe quenching fiuid with theouterrjperiphery: of the brake drum.

Asbrought out before, it is van. object of thisV invention tok assure contact ofthe` quenching Huid with the interior vof the brake'drum inA advance of: the. contact. ofi the `quenching fluid with the outer periphery of; the brake drum, and toaccomplish. thisresult there is v provided a bearingl or supporting ring-45011 the lower die 12. This bearing orf-.su ort- 15. in the lower die- 152, being held in place by bolt-s 4G, which pass. loosely .through'the bearing ring 45 vand which engage iny the against the. basel of:`r sockets 43 formed the bearing ring 45.V It thus? btraipzparent that thevv springs 461tend to constantly urge the bearing. rrplygI 4a upwardly int@ contant ing ring 45 is mounted in thefanm'ilar. groove Y with the brake drum 34 mounted in the apparatus. By virtue of the yieldable mounting of the bearing ring 45, this bearing ring will always be firmly., pressed against the lower flange 36 'of the brake drum to form a tight seal against this lowerfiange. Further, movement of the bearing ring 45 will permit the apparatus to be used with brake drums ef different heights, since the bearing ring will immediately adapt itself to the height of the braledrum.

For forming a further seal with the lower edge of the bra-ke drum 34, there is provided a guard ring 49 which is mounted in a recess 50 formed on the inner periphery of the bean ing ring 45 and which is secured to the bear-L ing ring by a plurality of spaced screws 5l.

yas

. 7 guard ring 49, there 1s provided a ring 53 "which is mounted by means of a plurality lof This guard ring is provided with an upstanding flange 52 formed on its inner periphery, which flange may be curved to conform to the curve of the loweredge of the brake drum 34. y

F rom the above, it will be obvious that the bearing ring 45 and guard ring 49 will form a tight seal between the flange 36 of vthe brake drum 34 and the lower die l2. rIhus quenching fluid forced upwardly through 'the fluid passage 14, is prevented from passset the brake drum and it is to be understood that upon the complete immersion of the apparatus in the bath of quenching fluid, the quenching` fluid will contact with the outer periphery of the brake drum to entirely quench the same.

It is to be further noted that by virtue of the fact that the web is clamped between the upper die and the top of the form members 19, this web will be substantially protected from contact with the quenching fluid so that this webwill remain tough after the quenching` operation.

VFor quenching drums which are not provided with the lower flange 36 I have provided the structure illustrated in Figure 4 l of the drawing. In this view, it will be noted` that there is provided the guard ring which is mounted 1n the die 12 in a manner similar to the mounting of the bearing ring 45 inthe die l2. In place, however, of the v f spaced bolts 54 in the recess 55 formed in the bearing ring 45,. The upper face of the guard ring 53 is plane so as to form an intif mate contact with the lower edge 56 of the brake drum 57. It will thus be seen that a 12 so that quenching liuid forced upwardly periphery of the brake drum free from convrtact with the quenching fluid and that subsequently the quenching vfluid will be permitted yto contact with the outer periphery ofthe brake drum to completely quench the brake drinne Itfwill further be 'apparent that I have yprovided means which function KLnot only tol seal the lower vedge of the brake ydrum,but also to permit theapparatus to be eiiiciently used' on brake drums ofvarying heights, so that a single apparatus may be used for a number of different types of brake drums. l y

'IVhile I have disclosed my invention as adapted particularly for the quenching of brake drums, it is to be yunderstood that the description is for the purposes of illustration only yand that the inventive principles may be embodied in apparatus for quenching articles of any size or shape, or for treating articles of any size or shape' with any character of a. fluid. The particular embodiment disclosed therefore is not tol be construed as definitive of the limits of `my inventive idea, and rI reserve the right to'make such changes in the details of construction and are y rangement of parts as will fall within the rfor compensating for variations' in" the heights of the drumsv being "treated,

Y2. In an appara-tus` for treating a'brake drum with a quenching fluid, the combination oi' a supporting die and. a ring on said die forming a ,bearing fon said drum, said rim being movableto compensate for variations in the height of said drum.

3. In an apparatus for treating a brake drum with a quenching fluid, the combination of a supporting die for the drum, a ring carried by said supporting die and means urging said ring into engagement with the drum.

4. In an apparatus for treating a brake drum with a quenching fluid, the combination of a grooved supporting die, a bearing ring for the drum mounted in the groove in the supporting die, and means urging the bearing ring into engagement with the drum.

5. In combination a die adapted to support a brake drum, the said die being provided with an annular groove, a bearing. ring for the brake drum, within the groove, and a .4 Y neogeo spring yieldably org-ing the bearing ring into engagement with tho drom- 6. In Combination upper and lower dios adapted to Clamp a brake drum and means for adapting said dies for the clamping of drums of Various heights, said means including a bearing ringyeldably Supported by the lower die.

7. 1n an apparatus yfor treating a brake i0 d runi with a quenching fluid the combination of a supporting die, and ineans carried by said supporting die for directing a quenching Huid into Contact With one face of said drum While initially preventing contact of the quench-` 15 ing fluid with the other face of the drum.

A8. In an apparatus for treating a brake drum with a'ouenohog fluid, the Combina tion of o Supporting die, o ring yeldobly v'mounted on said supporting die, said .ring- 20 constituting-a bearing fort-he drum, andmeans carried by said ring for initially directing the quenching fluid into contactwith the inner periphery of the drum.

9t In an apparatus for treating a bra-lie 25, drum with a quenching fluid, ay die for Supporting the drum, the said dieJ being adapted to be lowered into o quenching fluid and being proyded with fluid passages to direct the quenching fluid to the interior of the 3Q drinn, and a sealing ring carried by said die for initially preventing Passage of tho Yquenching fluid from the interior of' the drum to the exterior thereof.

10. I n an apparatus for ytreating a brake f 35. drinn with a quenching iiuid, an adjustable v form adapted to loosely receive a brake drum, means for adjusting said forni Ito the desired inside diameter of the drum portion of the brake drunnan upper die for clamping the 4Q Web portion of the drum upon said form, a

lower die apertured for the passage of the quenching fluid, a bearing ring on the lower dieV for supporting the brake druno, and a Y ,seerd ring eafred bly the bearing fine for 5 directing the quenchingn fluid into Contact Withthe inner periphery of the brake drum.

In testimonywhereof I affix my signature.

` WALTER .G-HILDORF; 

